Care Council Promotes ‘Dying Well’ Discussions

The Older People’s Working Group in Reading discussed the idea of ‘dying well’ at its meeting on Friday 6 February.

The forum, run by Reading Borough Council to help older residents find out about local services and have a say in how they run, heard that the council’s adult social care department and partners are running webinars to support people nearing the end of life and explain what preparations they can make.

Beverley Nicholson, an integration manager at the council’s adult social care department, said the concept is being shaped by health practitioners. "I know this can be a tricky subject, it's going to happen for all of us! It feeds into wider work from the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care Board (ICB)."

She added: "Sue Ryder are running focus groups, and is aligning questions with those of the council, enabling people to share their stories, what was really good and what could be better." She also said: "We've got a finite amount of funding, so we want to make it count. The next webinar is about the practical aspects of support."

The initiative was prompted by the number of older people dying in A&E and on hospital wards, which may not be their preferred place to die.

Group member Gordon Summer asked about assisted dying. Mrs Nicholson responded that hospices provide crucial end-of-life care. Mr Summer said: "All I hope is I don't die in pain." He added that being in agony is not a good way to die.

There was also mention of natural or green burial methods, described as "leaving this earth by returning to the earth". Public burials are held at Henley Cemetery and Crematorium, with costs varying between full-body and cremation burials and higher fees for non-residents.

Councillor Andrew Hornsby-Smith (Labour, Church) said he found the government website ‘what to do when someone dies’ helpful after the death of his mother. The site is set out as a step-by-step guide covering registering the death, telling the government and checking bereavement benefits and support services.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter